Senior Josh Simpson's hard work has led to quite a career at B-EHS

Two cross country state titles, 12 varsity letters in four sports and one set of legs separate Josh Simpson from the rest of the pack.

Simpson, a Burlington-Edison High School senior, is wrapping up a four-year career in which he’s beaten just about everybody he’s faced in cross country, swimming, track and, for two years, soccer.

“It’s impressive with what he can do and how hard he works,” track coach Kevin Gudgel said. “He will give you everything he has. Sometimes I have to make sure that he’s not pushing too hard. Sometimes he’s hurting.”

His sports may not be as popular or as well-known as football or basketball, but Simpson’s accomplishments are impressive in their own right.

The senior helped Burlington-Edison capture back-to-back Class 2A state titles in cross country and has placed fifth at state the past two years. He captained a nucleus of elite runners during the past two seasons, and led through his work ethic, cross country coach Sue Wright said.

“He welcomed those younger boys who had been such an integral part of the team (the previous year),” Wright said. “He was their role model and that helped him develop his leadership skills. They’ve been fortunate to have him.”

Simpson downplays his accomplishments. When his teammates would have all day to train and practice for the upcoming cross-country season, the senior would be sawing logs at his part-time construction job.

“I’m the non-runner of all the runners,” Simpson said. “During the summer I work construction so I don’t run as much as some of our other runners.”

But that didn’t stop him from working out.

He said his boss would occasionally drop him off about a half mile away from his work site so he had to run to get there.

“He told me that he didn’t want my cross country coach to be mad at him,” Simpson said.
Although he’s mostly known for his cross country feats, Simpson has found success in the swimming pool and on the track the past few years.

Swimming has always been enjoyable for Simpson, so he joined the swimming squad his freshman year.

“Swimming is by far the hardest sport I do — you use muscles that you never know you had,” he said.

As difficult as it was, the sport kept him in shape during the winter months.

It wasn’t until after his sophomore year that Simpson said he had to decide which spring sport suited his talents best. He decided to join the track team and focus on his running after two years on the varsity boys’ soccer team.

“It was a really hard decision to make,” Simpson said. “I had played with those guys for so long.”

It paid off for him though, as he immediately fit in the middle- to long-distance events. Plus, a number of his cross country friends competed in track, too.

“Track season really helped him focus,” Wright said. “The picture became clearer on where his running could take him.”

With track season underway, Simpson said the pressure is off since he’s now competing in his final athletic season for Burlington-Edison. He’s already helped the school win two state titles in cross country, so now its just a matter of figuring out which college he wants to attend.

He said he’s looking at a number of two-year colleges and hopes to transfer to a four-year university where he can lace up his running shoes.

Maybe then his boss would finally give him a break.